


The Mere Exposure Theory

by Insertpoetryhere



Category: Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Hanschen has a cat named Patroclus, He is my favorite character, Honestly it’s just cute, M/M, Modern AU, coffee shop AU, he is the standard of Asshole Cat, meet cute, mild angst later on but like really mild bc this is a feel good fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 05:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18844678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insertpoetryhere/pseuds/Insertpoetryhere
Summary: Martha did not believe in love at first sight, but she was really starting to run out of ways to describe her attraction to this soulful stranger.Meanwhile, Moritz is stuck with an unhelpful roommate and a crush that won’t go away.





	The Mere Exposure Theory

Martha had been going to this cafe for her entire college career. What could she say, they had the best frappes she had ever tasted. Plus the blueberry scones were to die for. The fact that it was within walking distance from her apartment only made it that much better…

Oh, and yeah. There was also him.

Martha knew love at first sight wasn’t real. You can’t fall in love with someone who you knew nothing about, so she couldn’t call her infatuation “love”. At first, she had tried to argue it away as just thinking he was attractive. After all, he was definitely her type; Tall, dark curly hair, hazel eyes that looked as though they had already seen the world and came back full of stories to share.

But for some reason, she couldn’t shake this magnetic pull that she felt. Like there was something even deeper pulling her in, a red string attaching the two together.

She shook her head, pushing it all aside. There was no way she was going to let herself fall down that rabbit hole!

Her mind drifted away, back to her Psych 101 seminar. She recalled a psychological theory where it was believed that the mere exposure to one person on a daily basis was enough to make you fall for them. She considered how for the past 4 years she had seen him every day and concluded that this was all it was.

The mere exposure theory.

Just at that moment, she could hear the sound of the bell at the door give out it’s little ring. She didn’t dare look up from her book, since the butterflies in her stomach and the devil on her shoulder all whispered that it was him.

She gave in to their sweet taunts, peeking over the pages of “Circe” just to get a peak of the new person standing at the counter.

Tall, pale with cinnamon sprinkles of freckles, and dark hair that just stood out against the light, airy colors of the cafe. He laughed along with the barista before turning, not on his heel as if he were in a hurry but by carefully turning one foot and allowing the other to follow. 

Martha decided that was enough, turning back to flipping the pages of her book. She had hardly noticed how a pair of soft, hazel eyes had fallen on her and lingered for just a second longer. She refused to entertain this seemingly impossible notion.

She could hear the sound of a chair not far from her own scrape lightly against the wood of the floor and the soft tap of a mug being set on the glass table tops.

She squeezed her eyes shut before opening them wide and looking over to him one more time. He had loose papers scattered on the table in record time, wire rimmed reading glasses perched on his nose and fogging up from the steam coming off of his tea.

She sighed, looking back at the words on the pages in front of her but not really letting any of them sink in.

She just didn’t get it. It wasn’t like she hadn’t dated anyone in college. There was Wendla, Ilse, Otto, Thea, Melchior (that was a mistake), even Georg! Still, with the inevitable failure of each one of those relationships she found herself wondering how the boy from the cafe would treat her? Would it be different if she would take the time to try and get to know him?

She wanted to scream, she didn’t even know his name and yet he was always on her mind!

Huffing, she grabbed her bag with conviction. Why sit here and stew in all these feelings when all she had to do was last a few more months? 

She tripped over what seemed to be air, sending the contents of her bag flying. One last middle finger from the universe for the day.

Martha gave a sigh, bending over to pick up her pens, notebooks,and anything else that she had sent sprawling across the wooden floor. She reached for her book, but only looked at her hand in confusion when her fingertips only brushed against wood. Her eyes drifted to the pair of beat-up converse, then up to the hazel eyes that were staring down at her with concern.

Martha jumped up, almost tripping a second time as she struggled to kneel in a way that was a bit more on his level. She looked to his hand, seeing her book being carefully balanced between his thumb and his palm.

“Oh, uhhh… Thanks.” Her throat felt dry as she reached out, clasping her fingers around the book and watching as his let go. He muttered something that sounded like “you’re welcome” and Martha assumed that it was best if she went on her way before things got any more awkward.

She turned on her heel, ready to leave and not come back for a few days so that he would forget her face when she suddenly heard his voice, soft yet commanding. “Wait!”

Martha looked over her shoulder, and for a minute she felt as though she was seeing him for the first time all over again. Up close, she saw just how tall he was, and just how shy he was as he fiddled with the hem of his red sweater.

“I’m Moritz.” He said quickly, holding his hand out in greeting. Her eyes met his, locking her into this social interaction with no escape.

She smiled at him, trying to hide the absolute terror that was building up. 

“I’m Martha.”

\---

“Fucking euthanize me!” Moritz groaned, stepping into his apartment. He nearly dropped his to-go cup as slammed the door shut.

If his roommate had heard him yell something along those lines about 4 years ago, it probably would have warranted a concerned look. But Hanschen had grown used to his antics by now.

“What happened this time?” He put down his book and moved his arm as his cat, Patroclus, bounded off of his lap. The fat ball of black fur ran up to Moritz and began rubbing his head against his leg, much to his owner’s dissatisfaction.

“I saw her again today…” Moritz reached down to give Patroclus a few scratches behind his ears.

Hanschen reached over to the side table, grabbing a bag of cat treats. “Ok, and?”

“And I introduced myself.” Moritz plopped himself on the beanbag chair that he two had never bothered to move from its place in the living room despite the fact that they had gotten actual chairs over two years ago. Hanschen looked up at him, unable to hide his shock and slight twinge of pride.

“Wow, ok that’s a big step forward! Why do you want me to euthanize you then?” Hanschen held out a treat to the cat, who looked at it, looked at him, and then continued to demand attention from Moritz in the form of pitiful head rubs against the boy’s shoes.

Moritz grabbed Patroclus and pulled him onto his lap, comforted by the purring little spoiled brat. “Because I have no idea where to go from there? Am I now expected to say hi every time i see her? Is it weird if I do that?”

“Or,” Hanschen suggested, also grabbing another treat and adding it to his hand to sweeten the deal. “You could just ask her out? I don’t know, just a suggestion.”

“Why in God’s name would I ever do that?” Moritz asked, ceasing his petting to shoot Hanschen a weird look. Patroclus did not approve.

Hanschen shook the treats in his hand for emphasis as he continued. “I don’t know, maybe because you’ve had a weird crush on this girl for literally as long as I’ve known you and it’s starting to border on pathetic.”

Moritz pursed his lip. “Ok… fair point…”

“So does that mean you’ll do it?” He asked, adding a third cat treat in desperation.

Moritz shrugged, trying to hide his anxiety. “I guess it does? Maybe? I’ll definitely think about it.”

Hanschen nodded. “So that’s a no.”

His shoulders slumped as Patroclus continued to purr in Moritz’s lap. Hanschen sighed, bringing the cat treats up to his own mouth, pausing as he remembered what they were, and then quickly deposited them back into the bag as if nothing happened.

“On a side note; Do you think he realizes that he’s my cat, not yours?”

**Author's Note:**

> This was so fun to write, Patroclus is my favorite character


End file.
